


Priority

by Heather_Night



Series: Priorities [1]
Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Appendicitis, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 06:08:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17156666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heather_Night/pseuds/Heather_Night
Summary: Deran was pissed.  Adrian should’ve been here hours ago.  He was usually home by 6 p.m. on Thursdays and even if he went home and took a nap, or whatever the hell he did, he should’ve been here by now.“Hey, where’s Adrian?  I thought he was going to help out tonight?”  Craig stared around the bar as though he thought Adrian would suddenly materialize.“That’s an excellent fucking question.”





	Priority

**Author's Note:**

> If you ignore the last episode of Season 3 this could be considered canon compliant, or at least built on a canon compliant foundation.
> 
> Please let me know if I need to change/add tags.
> 
> This is probably as shmoopy as I get.

Deran was enthusiastically plunging in and out of Adrian’s body when the other guy made a strangled yelping noises and tensed up. The tensed muscles were enough to massage Deran’s climax out of him.

It took a while to recover his breath and once he dealt with the condom, Adrian had already slid out of bed and moved into the bathroom. The water started up before Deran could say anything.

Usually Adrian was the one who wanted to cuddle post coital, or even worse, talk—about feelings—but this morning he’d bypassed both and had jumped into the shower.

Deran idly scratched his chest while his mind buzzed, trying to figure out if there was a problem. He’d thought being in a committed relationship would be easier but at least half the time he spent second guessing himself. It didn’t help that they both had crazy schedules. Deran swore he’d seen more of Adrian before they’d made it official.

Adrian burst out of the bathroom, towel tied around his waist, tugging on clean clothing. Today’s uniform consisted of jeans and a t-shirt which indicated a school day. Deran should’ve known that but he’d lost track of the days somehow.

Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Deran had been aware of the date because tonight was the night The Drop was having live entertainment. Apparently, orgasms did knock off some IQ points temporarily. He’d known today was a big day before he’d started sucking on the spot behind Adrian’s ear that drove him crazy. That was why he’d initiated sex; it was a good distraction and stress release. 

Making The Drop a huge success was Deran’s main priority right now. Success equaled money which equaled getting out from beneath Smurf’s reach.

“You still able to help out tonight?” Deran lounged against the pillows stacked at the head of the bed watching Adrian’s dressing frenzy.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be there.” Adrian sounded distracted as he bent over and pulled on his Van’s. He winced when he straightened, his hand covering his stomach.

Deran’s sense went on alert. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” They always had enthusiastic sex and it had never been a problem before but Adrian had made that weird noise before Deran came.

Adrian paused in buttoning his shirt, frowning. “You mean did you hurt me with your magic dick?”

It felt like a gut punch. Adrian was sarcastic and could be an asshole—the two of them got along so well because they shared some of the same traits—but Deran had been expressing concern and had it thrown back in his face.

Usually Adrian wasn’t the moody one but today, the day Deran needed his support, was the day he was going to be prick.

Adrian was no slouch in reading a room and realized the temperature had turned chilly. “Shit, I’m sorry. I’ve got a stomach ache and I’m feeling kind of crappy.”

“So, why don’t you stay home today? Maybe you just need to rest.” He definitely needed the rest in Deran’s opinion. He was cranky. 

Deran stood, pulling on a pair of shorts. Something about laying around naked while his partner was dressed made him feel vulnerable.

“I, uh, can’t. I’ve got an exam and Professor Krueger said not even death was an acceptable excuse for missing it.” Adrian’s lips were pursed as he stared at Deran and he sounded exasperated. “I’m going to head to campus and get some last-minute cramming in. I’ll see you later.”

Adrian took off before Deran could say anything else. Before he could fix him breakfast; breakfast was the most important meal of the day, fueling everything that came after, and if Adrian had an exam, he should’ve made time for it. 

Scratching the stubble on his chin, Deran couldn’t believe he’d forgotten Adrian had a big exam today. Maybe boinking his brains out had been a stress release for Deran but it hadn’t really worked out that way for Adrian. He vaguely remembered Adrian saying something about wanting to get up early and get to campus to study and he’d made it his mission to dismantle any sign of resistance by paying close attention to each and every erogenous zone on Adrian’s body. Any day that started with a hot and heavy fuck was a good day in Deran’s book. Day was the exception.

He wondered if he could have a do-over on the morning.

-0-

Deran was pissed. Adrian should’ve been here hours ago. He was usually home by 6 p.m. on Thursdays and even if he went home and took a nap, or whatever the hell he did, he should’ve been here by now.

“Hey, where’s Adrian? I thought he was going to help out tonight?” Craig stared around the bar as though he thought Adrian would suddenly materialize. 

“That’s an excellent fucking question.” Deran had been consumed with all the last-minute details he’d needed to handle before the band went on stage. It would’ve been nice to have Adrian here. The other guy was usually a calming presence and he always knew what to do even before Deran asked him to do it.

Frankie sidled up, clinging to Craig’s arm. “Hi, Deran.” She also looked around as though expecting to see someone. “I thought Adrian would be here.”

Deran shook his head. He didn’t have time for this shit. “I don’t know. I don’t care.”

The woman didn’t see offended by his response; she was actually pretty difficult to offend and Deran would know; he’d tried on several occasions. “Did he call?”

“I’ve had my phone on me all fucking day so I think I would know if he called.” He patted the pocket where he kept his phone.

The pocket was empty. “Shit. I left my phone in the back room. Be right back.”

Deran locked the door behind him because he did not need anyone following him in there. His phone was sitting on his desk. He snatched it up and checked his messages.

There was actually a sweet text from Adrian: _Sorry for this am. Good luck w prep. The Drop is gonna kill it tonite. C u l8er._. That had been sent before Adrian’s exam.

There were two voicemails, one from Adrian and one from a number he didn’t recognize.

Deran wouldn’t be happy if Adrian was canceling on him but at least he hadn’t left him high and dry without word. Deran couldn’t stand the silent treatment, not that Adrian treated him that way, but the thought of him ignoring him really fucking bugged him. He was already relieved that wasn’t the case.

At least until he listened to the first message. “Hello, this is Professor Krueger. I’m afraid Adrian collapsed during my exam. He’s on the way to Thornton Hospital. I’m sure you can contact them for a status once you hear this message. Otherwise my number is 858-555-5555.”

His hand was shaking as he listened to the next message. “Hi, this is Julie in Admissions with Thornton Pavilion. You’re listed as Adrian Dolan’s emergency contact. Please call me back at 858-657-7000. We’re a part of Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla.”

Deran poked the Return Call and was quickly connected with Admissions. It had been so long since the message had been left that Julie was no longer on duty. 

“Yes, hi. This is Deran Cody and I’m the emergency contact for Adrian Dolan. Could you please tell me what’s going on?” His hand was combing back his hair, tugging it as seconds dragged by.

He could hear keys clacking as the woman typed something in the background. “Sure, Mr. Cody. Mr. Dolan was scheduled for emergency surgery. They’re doing an appendectomy.” That wasn’t so bad. Was it? Lots of people had appendicitis.

“Is he going to be okay?” His voice sounded really small. He found himself holding his breath, waiting for the woman to answer.

“You’ll have to speak with his doctor. Do you want me to have her call you?” How could she sound so calm when Deran was losing his mind?

Deran took a deep breath. “I’d like to talk with her in person. I can be there in thirty-five minutes.”

“Very good. Just come in through the ER entrance and they’ll direct you to the right section of the hospital.” He disconnected the call, his brain scrambling to figure out what to do.

He couldn’t just leave the bar. But Adrian needed him.

It was no contest.

He left the room in a rush, finding Craig, Frankie and now Pope standing at the bar.

Pope saw him coming and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Adrian’s at Jacobs Medical Center. He collapsed at school and now he’s in surgery. I need to go.” Saying it out loud didn’t help; panic was making his chest tight.

Frankie touched his forearm gently. “Craig and I will take care of things here. Be careful on the drive.”

Craig squeezed his shoulder. “Frankie’s managed a bar before. She knows her shit.”

It was nice to know but at the moment Deran realized he didn’t even care. “Thanks. I owe you.”

Deran patted his pocket, trying to find his keys.

“Come on, I’ll drive.” Pope pushed him towards the door. “So, did they say what’s wrong with him?”

“Appendicitis.” Deran was already checking on his thumb nail, worst case scenarios running through his mind. 

Pope headed toward the I-5. “So, appendicitis? I’m sure he’ll be fine. I mean the overall mortality rate is .2 to .8% and that’s attributable to complications rather than to surgery.”

Deran scrubbed his hands over his face. “Not really helping.”

Death. That was the ultimate worst-case scenario. Especially on the heels of finding about Ox dying.

Leaning against the window, Deran redoubled his efforts to gnaw down his cuticle. Why hadn’t he spent more time with Adrian lately? Nothing else was nearly as important to him.

-0-

Deran had parted ways with Pope downstairs, his brother on the way to the cafeteria for coffee. He stood by the nurse’s station on the Medical/Surgical unit, waiting to speak with someone about Adrian.

A small woman in scrubs entered the area and after a silent conversation with the guy at the desk, she approached Deran. “Mr. Cody? I’m Dr. Placido. I performed the appendectomy laparoscopically on Mr. Dolan under general anesthesia. Since the appendix did perforate I also irrigated and drained the abdominal cavity.”

“Is that bad?” It sounded bad. Deran’s heart rate began to soar.

“We prefer to remove the appendix before they burst to lessen the risk of infection but we’ll be giving Mr. Dolan IV antibiotics to make sure he doesn’t become septic. Barring complications he should make a full recovery in two to three weeks. Mr. Dolan tolerated the procedure well and he seems to be in excellent health so I’m not really anticipating any problems although we’ll be monitoring him for another day to make sure. Do you have any questions for me?” She had kind eyes. Kind but tired.

Deran realized he was wringing his hands. He was glad Pope wasn’t here to see it. “Can I see him?”

“Of course. He’s in room 315 on the right side of the hallway. If you have additional questions please speak with the nurses here and they’ll have me paged.” She offered her hand; Deran shook it in a daze.

A statuesque nurse came out from behind the counter. “My name is Tanya and I’ll be taking care of Adrian this evening. It’s time for me to check on him so if you’d like I can show you to his room.”

Tanya stopped outside of 315 and turned to look at him. “Adrian’s been anxious to see you. He was concerned that you didn’t arrive before the procedure and afterward we told him you were on your way but I’m not sure he believed us. He had a bit of a panic attack and the doctor prescribed something to calm him down so he might be a bit out of it.” 

Adrian had wanted to see him before the procedure. He’d been anxious.

Deran felt awful. How many times had Adrian been there for Deran? The one time Adrian really needed him and Deran hadn’t been there for him.

From the doorway Adrian looked peaceful as he reclined on the bed, flat on his back. The beeping monitors would’ve driven Deran crazy but they didn’t seem to have any effect on Adrian.

The closer Deran go to the bed, the more he realized Adrian wasn’t peacefully napping. He looked pretty sick. His skin was as pale as the white gown he was in and his face was scrunched up in pain or worry.

The monitor bleated an alarm. He looked at Tanya who didn’t seem worried as she logged onto a laptop and studied the information displayed before her. 

As she tapped away on the keyboard Deran sank into the chair, scooting it closer to the bed. He carefully took Adrian’s hand, leaving the clamp on his finger alone; he just needed some sort of contact.

“Deran?” Adrian roused, turning toward him, his voice soft and shaky. His eyes were open, mostly, although one eyelid drooped a little.

“Right here, babe.” Deran leaned closer. He kept a light grip on Adrian’s hand and smoothed Adrian’s hair back from his face with the other.

The guilt staggered him. There were dark smudges beneath Adrian’s eyes and his face was drawn. If Deran had been paying closer attention to Adrian, he would’ve known something was wrong. 

Adrian wetted his lips. “I’m sorry.”

Jesus. Deran’s eyes flooded with moisture. “No, I’m sorry.”

“You’re not mad at me?” Adrian was usually his voice of reason but right now he sounded like he was five instead of twenty-five. Deran knew pain killers could fuck with a person’s emotions but it was difficult to hear. 

“No, I’m not mad at you. None of this is your fault.” Deran cupped Adrian’s chin and stared into his bloodshot eyes. 

Tanya cleared her throat, interrupting them. “Adrian? My name is Tanya and I’m one of your nurses this evening. How are you feeling, honey?”

Deran wasn’t too thrilled with someone else calling Adrian honey but he didn’t think it was personal. 

“Thirsty?” Adrian’s voice was so damned weak sounding and everything he said came out like a question. 

The nurse smiled. “You’re in luck. I have some ice chips with your name on them.” She left the room but returned almost instantly, a Styrofoam cup and spoon in hand. She handed them to Deran. “Just a few at a time. We’ll graduate to water in an hour or so, depending on how he tolerates these.” She left once again, scrub pants swishing.

Deran tipped some ice onto the spoon. “Here, this will make you feel better.”

Adrian tentatively licked at the spoon. Deran didn’t know why but the gesture made his heart melt, just like the ice was melting on the spoon.

After another spoonful, Adrian closed his eyes.

“Hey, you okay?” Deran wasn’t used to seeing Adrian so docile. It was a far cry from the surly Adrian of this morning. 

Adrian blinked his eyes open. “Just really tired.” The droopy eyelid was more pronounced. 

“Why don’t you close your eyes for a while?” Deran stood up, setting the cup down on the tray table next to the bed.

Without warning, Adrian tried to sit up but didn’t get very far, clutching his lower right side before flopping back onto the bed. “Don’t go! Please!”

“Hey, hey, relax, I’m not going anywhere.” Deran didn’t like the panicked look on Adrian’s face. 

He also didn’t like the way Adrian continued to hold his abdomen.

The nurse reentered the room. “Your monitors are pretty active. What’s going on?”

“He, uh, tried to sit up.” Deran sat back in the chair, worried they’d throw him out. Especially since he’d just promised Adrian he wouldn’t go anywhere.

The nurse, Tanya, pursed his lips. She leaned over, pulling the blankets down to check Adrian’s dressing. “I should’ve known you’d be just as much trouble coming out of the anesthetic as you were going under. Your boyfriend is here so it’s time to relax. Okay?”

Adrian’s big blue eyes blinked at the nurse. “Okay?”

“You probably use those deep blue peepers to get your way all of the time, don’t you?” Tanya was tucking the blankets back up, her focus on the monitors.

Deran knew the nurse was just making small talk but what she said wasn’t true. “No, he doesn’t do that. He doesn’t realize how beautiful he is, like, at all.” Shit, he’d said that aloud; he must be tired if his filter was off.

Tanya squeezed Deran’s shoulder lightly. “That’s so sweet.” She turned her attention to Adrian. “Here’s the plan. You’re going to hang out here with your boyfriend and rest. No more trying to get up. Got it?”

Adrian nodded his head; Deran didn’t think he had a clue. It was kind of like dealing with Adrian after he’d mixed pot and alcohol although he’d never been this bad before.

Deran perched his arms on the bed, wrapping his hands gently around Adrian’s which were folded on his chest. “Go ahead and get some rest. I’ll hang on to you.”

“Promise? You’re not leaving me?” Somehow it felt like Adrian wasn’t talking about just this moment; it was like he was asking for some sort of commitment. 

He’d thought buying the house and living with Adrian was a big enough of commitment but as usual, Deran had somehow missed the mark. 

Deran wished he was the kind of guy who could give Adrian romantic words. “Nope. You’re stuck with me.” That was, sadly, his best effort.

Adrian didn’t seem to mind. He gave Deran’s arm an awkward pat and after a long blink, focus and coordination an issue, Adrian’s eyes remained closed. This time his face wasn’t creased with pain or anxiety.

How had this happened on Deran’s watch? Adrian always saw to Deran’s needs—usually more emotional than physical unless you counted sex—but Deran needed to up his game. He always made sure Adrian ate well and had a comfortable place to sleep but there were some deficits in his game, like knowing when Adrian was stressed and making sure he got enough rest despite the both of them being horny.

He could do that. Easily. Hell, he’d left The Drop in Craig’s and Frankie’s hands without a second thought as soon as he’d heard Adrian was having surgery. 

Adrian was his priority. 

Now he just needed to show Adrian.

 

Finis

**Author's Note:**

> I find writing Deran's voice challenging but he didn't put up a battle while writing this story so hopefully we're coming to an understanding.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
